Most reviews and interviews with Gordon mention that he spent time attending the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa in the late ’80s getting his Masters in Poetry. But during this time he was also performing his music around eastern Iowa.
CSPS Hall
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Woodstock’s break-out chanteuse Melanie heads to Cedar Rapids
Forty-nine years ago this week, a relatively unknown young woman took the stage at perhaps the seminal cultural event in U.S. history. Melanie Safka-Schekeryk was only 22 when the Woodstock Music and Art Fair — “3 Days of Peace & Music,” the posters read — took over a farm in upstate New York and changed the course of music.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the 10th anniversary of the 2008 flood, Cedar Rapids artist Mel Andringa looks back to look forward
In 2008, he had been considering retirement. Now, he’s curating two major shows, both opening June 7. One is of his own post-flood work (running through July), and will be held at CSPS Hall, the renovated New Bo building that houses his studio and Legion Arts, both of which suffered great losses due to the flood. The other (running through June 16) is a look back at the 2x2xU exhibit that was hanging all around New Bo when the flood came through.
Posted inCommunity/News
Analog Vault record store is moving
Analog Vault, the Cedar Rapids independent record store, is moving from the space it’s occupied in on the second floor of the converted bank building that’s now home to the Chrome Saloon & Slop House in the New Bo District.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Nellie McKay and her dog Bessie are coming to Cedar Rapids
When delightful East Coast songstress Nellie McKay makes a tour stop in Cedar Rapids this weekend, she won’t be alone. “She will be coming to Iowa, her first time in Iowa,” McKay said in a phone call of her travel partner, her beloved rescue dog Bessie. “She’s looking forward to lots of skips and rolls.”
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Rural Route Film Festival’s ‘Very Best Of’ tour rolls into Cedar Rapids
Elkader native Alan Webber is back in Iowa for two presentations of his Rural Route Film Festival — tonight, April 19 at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids (tickets are $10) and Sunday, April 22 at Luther College in Decorah, as part of the Oneota Film Festival.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Five questions with: Cavan Hallman of Mirrorbox Theatre
The newest addition to the Eastern Iowa theater scene, Mirrorbox Theatre, opens its inaugural production this weekend. The play, Ike Holter’s “Exit Strategy,” runs Thursday, April 5 through Saturday, April 7 in the C Space at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids’ NewBo District.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Desdemona redux: Emily Martin explores animation at CSPS
Book artist Emily Martin, whose work has been displayed across the country and the world, has turned her attention to a new medium for her exploration of William Shakespeare’s Othello through the words of the tragic Desdemona: animation.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Dan Tedesco chases the lightning to Cedar Rapids
Dan Tedesco will be at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 14. He’ll show the film, then hold a Q&A which will be followed by a short solo acoustic set. Tickets are $13 in advance and $16 at the door.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Ventriloquist Denny Naughton picks up his dummies again for a NCSML fundraiser
Denny Naughton and Friends CSPS Legion Arts — Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. “The first show I did was a talent show,” Dennis Naughton said, reflecting on his adventures as a ventriloquist. His mother had some advice after that fledgling performance. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t read the routine out a joke book,” she […]
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Interview: Folksinger Richard Shindell on his influences and his love of Cedar Rapids’ CSPS Hall
Songwriter, guitarist and folksinger Shindell returns to CSPS Hall on Wednesday night for a concert presented by Legion Arts. Tickets are still available — $18 in advance and $22 at the door — for the concert, which begins at 7 p.m. Shindell will be joined by Marc Shulman on electric guitar.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Pang!’ premiere underscores the connectedness of all of us
Pang! had its world premiere last night at CSPS Hall in the New Bohemia district of Cedar Rapids, and I cannot imagine that one person left this remarkable show unaffected.
